YouTube Red plans to try a new distribution strategy for an upcoming original movie, which will see a theatrical release, according to a new report from IndieWire. The movie, Vulture Club, stars Susan Sarandon as a nurse whose journalist son is held hostage by terrorists.
YouTube Red plans to screen its next original film in theaters
The move follows YouTube’s competitors like Amazon and Netflix
The move follows YouTube’s competitors like Amazon and Netflix
Although this is largely a departure from YouTube’s past strategy of premiering its originals solely on YouTube Red, the company did give a limited theatrical release to This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous last year, as IndieWire points out. YouTube Red had also planned to release Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! in theaters after buying it at TIFF in 2017. But YouTube was forced to can the project later that year when Spurlock admitted to sexually abusive behavior, and stepped down from his production company.
Giving Vulture Club a theatrical release seems like an attempt by YouTube to increase its credibility and compete with streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, both of which have released films in theaters. In 2016, Amazon’s Manchester by the Sea saw a successful theatrical release, which paved the way for its Best Picture Oscar nomination.
Vulture Club will also star Edie Falco, Matt Bomer, and Julian Morris. The IndieWire report notes that no release date has been set, and YouTube doesn’t have a theatrical partner tied to the film yet.
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